Jason is a multi-faceted figure in the pinball community who operates as both a venue proprietor and active player/streamer. He co-owns Bad Axe Retrocade with his wife Shar, providing technical expertise in game repair and maintenance. Beyond his arcade business, Jason is involved in the broader pinball ecosystem as a collector, tournament organizer with Triangle Pinball Players, streamer, and Patreon supporter of pinball content.
No aliases
No relationships
No facts recorded
Jason quit his full-time software job two weeks prior to this recording, with the last day being the day he recorded this episode
Star Wars: Fall of the Empire has poor shot design and is not fun to play
The original Costco Star Wars game (Steve Ritchie design) is significantly more fun than Stern's Fall of the Empire version
Beetlejuice by Spooky has exceptional art, sound design, and thematic integration
Shar's husband; co-owner of Bad Axe Retrocade; provides technical and electrical expertise; maintains primary business supporting arcade operations; handles game repair and maintenance
Collector in California; sold the 004-10-00001x first prototype playfield to Prusa via Pinside listing
Pinball streamer whose content influenced stall timer creation
Proprietor and owner of Outlanes Pinball venue
Tournament organizer from Triangle Pinball Players who invited hosts to tournaments at Bull City Solera
New Patreon member at Mini-Wizard Tier Mode
Expert: merged definition Expert: merged definition
No linked glossary terms
Stern botched the launch of The Walking Dead remaster with poor communication and no gameplay footage
Video assets and high-quality screen graphics do not make pinball games good by themselves
X-Men has more creative shots and better flow than Star Wars: Fall of the Empire
The original Walking Dead cabinet has superior dark, grungy art that distinguishes it from family-oriented games
FOMO marketing is creating unhealthy purchasing behavior and rapid hype-buying cycles in the pinball hobby
Game location availability is severely limited for non-urban players, creating forced secondary market purchases
Walking Dead Remaster will be more exciting than Star Wars
Jurassic Park Premium machines currently sell for approximately $7,200
New pinball machines purchased in-box typically lose $2,000 in value when resold within weeks
The pinball hobby is becoming financially riskier for collectors due to sustained depreciation
Stern's current business model of high pricing plus limited LE production is unsustainable for long-term growth
Younger generations are not adopting pinball at rates comparable to current collectors
An Iron Man Pro Vault Edition was listed at $5,500 in Texas but seller increased price by $1,000 after negotiation fell through
A hypothetical Stern Star Wars pinball with $200 price reduction per tier and premier designer would sell out LEs immediately
The pinball community should consolidate around serious collectors and fewer casual investors to stabilize the market
AI-driven market analysis of Pinball Prices data provides more accurate pricing information than traditional market analysis segments
The pinball market will not stabilize unless pricing and production volume strategy changes significantly
Venom is a bad pinball game despite Venom being an excellent Marvel character
Porter theme fits better in pinball than Cuphead
Keith Elwin's games have significantly more gameplay depth than competitors
John Wick pinball game is pretty bad
P3 modular system pricing undermined original affordability value proposition
Most pinball content creators provide universally positive coverage regardless of game quality
Harry Potter trim levels will require removal of features to achieve sub-$10,000 Pro price
Portal pinball will have better market penetration than other video game IP conversions
Flippin' Out Pinball provides best customer service and pricing in industry
Walking Dead remaster will be released later in 2025
Party Pinball Podcast receives hundreds of dollars monthly from Patreon
Jaws has air ball problems on location that reduce in frequency as plastics degrade over time
Ninja Eclipse is surprisingly high-quality for its price point and represents exceptional value
Secondary market pinball prices are correcting downward even as location operator revenue remains strong
X-Men will definitely be at Pinball Expo; Metallica will probably be there too
Jack Danger has a perfect design track record of 100/100 with Foo Fighters
Metallica remake will be Spike 3 based with stereo sound upgrade as primary improvement
King Kong is a low-key rumor for Keith Elwin fitting his monster movie theme pattern
Jaws Pro is significantly harder than Jaws Premium due to shark target and gameplay mechanics
Multimorphic games are hard to sell/trade and rarely seen on location or owned by collectors
All current pinball prices are 'fucking crazy' and unsustainably high for LE editions
Flippin Out Pinball provides better customer service and product protection than competitors like Haggis
Secondary pinball market is softening due to anticipation of multiple major releases clustered together
Pinball Party Podcast started in September 2022 with no initial plan or vision
First podcast episode was removed due to DMCA claim on Jason's own original music
Zach Meany discovered the podcast 3 weeks after publication and encouraged Jason to continue
Deep Dive episode format was directly inspired by Retronauts podcast's successful model
Jason is considering transitioning Pinball Party Podcast to 100% paywall model
Jason's long-term goal is to build a broader podcast network entity beyond pinball, similar to Duck Feed TV or Earwolf
Jason is 41 years old and has lived in Auclair, Wisconsin for most of his life
Jason's comedy style is influenced by George Carlin and Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Jaws is not a great location game due to obtuse rules that require extended learning time
Code version .88 was crucial and included ability to skip video modes
Air ball issues on Jaws are very common across machines
Playing Jaws intensively caused tendonitis pain rated at 10 severity
Jaws ranks second in Jason's Keith Elwin personal ranking after Jurassic Park
Jaws bounty system is similar to Jurassic Park's paddocks but with added complexity
Travis Meary has produced helpful tutorial videos for Jaws covering .87/.88 code
Jason is actively hunting for a Lord of the Rings machine in specific playfield printing condition to create custom pin sound mix
The Q prototype game is one of approximately 6 prototypes ever made and never went to production
Modern pinball games of the last 10 years are better overall than 1990s games
Pinball machine play count tracking is inaccurate even on Spike 2 platform machines
Pinball appeals primarily to engineer and programmer personality types
Black Knight Sword of Rage Pro is the superior version compared to Premium
Expression Lights are an essential upgrade making Foo Fighters Premium Edition 'complete'
American Pinball's design strategy reflects outdated thinking about original IP viability in modern market
Pulp Fiction's mono audio is adequate but stereo would noticeably improve drum/hi-hat spatial separation for musicians
Jason scored 90 million points on Fun House at District 82, surpassing Raymond Davis's 45 million
Control responsiveness is the most critical factor in game enjoyment across all game types (video games, basketball, pinball)
Chicago Gaming Company's remakes (Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness) have noticeable flipper lag compared to originals
Multimorphic's full backbox video implementation in Princess Bride represents the gold standard for modern pinball design
Jason would prioritize the Standard edition Multimorphic Princess Bride ($11,500) over Collector's ($13,750) due to cosmetic-only differences
Lord of the Rings LE machines sold for approximately $13,200-13,500 in early 2023 and are now selling for around $11,500
Stern is increasing Black Knight: Sword of Rage topper price from $400-500 to $1,500
Secondary market toppers previously traded at $2,500-3,000 before Stern's new pricing
Secondary market pricing will eventually stabilize and may even drop below pre-COVID norms due to Stern's remake strategy and new facility demand
Stern's strategy of simultaneously targeting home, arcade, and collector markets without clear positioning is ineffective
Jason cancelled his plans to attend Pinball Expo to prioritize work-life balance and visit Door County instead
Stern Star Trek Pro was Jason's first pinball machine purchase at approximately $4,200
Iron Man's custom audio mix with AC/DC additions is hosted on Pinside by Jason under code version 1.86 Vault Edition
Lord of the Rings theme and Shire aesthetic have deep personal meaning to Jason related to mindfulness and letting go of obsession
Jason has owned Lord of the Rings multiple times and maintains a personal list of games never to repurchase
Difficulty in pinball games can be positive because it prevents boredom through increased challenge
Jason from Pinball Party has left Triple Pinball Network to produce content independently with no reported conflict
Jason from Kaneda's Pinball Podcasts had the top qualifying score on Sky Jump with 129,260 points
Used Premium pinball machines are currently priced around $9,000 with losses of $500+ expected on new purchases
New Pro machines start around $6,000 in the used market
Jaws will be coming sometime from Keith Elwin
There may be a rumored Spike 3 next year
Electric Bat Arcade has launched a podcast featuring Rachel, Cale, and Bob
Most people met through pinball trading and community are not really happy
Cale placed first at a tournament last weekend
The pinball community exists as a small, isolated group with no mainstream awareness
Bond 60th Anniversary is boring after one game despite high community expectations
TMNT LE is the standout game at Lit Pinball Bar despite playfield ergonomics issues
Foo Fighters expression lights make a world of difference in game quality
Jersey Jack has superior audio engineering compared to Stern
TMNT inner ramp timing is crucial and difficult to master
Centaur Revisited maintains the original black, white, and red playfield color scheme
Venom pinball will be revealed at Comic-Con on July 20-23
Venom is one of the best supervillains of all time, behind only Lex Luthor and the Joker
Jurassic Park is the 30th anniversary in 2023 and would be a good candidate for re-theme
Metallica has a lot of teeth/skull imagery on the playfield
Comic-Con is much larger than pinball and encompasses video games, comics, movies, and MCU/DCU content
Stern Pinball ignores customer support requests until customers abandon their machines and sell out of frustration
Foo Fighters Premium's upper playfield is comparatively large and slow-paced compared to Pro version
Godzilla Pro version provides superior shot visibility and timing for the destruction jackpot compared to Premium
Godzilla Premium's building animation during multiball creates unreliable ball routing requiring left flipper tip accuracy
Jason plans to hold Foo Fighters Premium at least until Expression Lights kit is available for installation
Seller dishonesty in high-value pinball machine transactions is more common than Jason expected based on community feedback
Foo Fighters Pinball has the best or tied-for-best first impression Jason has experienced among pinball games
Foo Fighters code version 0.93 feels more complete than James Bond at launch
The upper playfield on Foo Fighters Premium is worth the price premium over Pro
The UFO captive ball shot on Foo Fighters builds spot-shot meter that can be used in modes to skip shots or achieve quick completion
Foo Fighters has hidden surprises including a Bot Frenzy mode
Jason prefers Foo Fighters Pinball to Godzilla Pinball
Flippin' Out Pinball delivered Jason's Foo Fighters Premium without issues
The combo system on Foo Fighters is forgiving with generous time windows and allows multiple hits before reset
Current average pinball machine price is around $8,000
Godfather pinball at $15,000 represents significantly better value than Bond 60th anniversary game
Prices continuing to rise will force him to exit the pinball hobby entirely
The pinball market is currently a buyer's market
Pulp Fiction pinball features single playfield level with inline drops and magnetic elements
He has backed out of multiple pinball purchase deals, most recently with Pinball Obsessed on Metallica Pro
Rush pinball was his favorite game of the previous year
Secondary market FOMO on used pinball machines is worse than new release FOMO from limited editions.
A Jurassic Park Premium was listed on the secondary market at $10,000 with stock configuration.
The INDISC tournament achieved a record 15,000 concurrent Twitch viewers.
Poster-based sideart is the better aesthetic choice for heavily-franchised games like Bond compared to single character artwork.
Carl D'Angelo recently achieved Twitch partner status.
Deadpool Pro MSRP is between $6,700 and just over $7,000
Jurassic Park Premium MSRP is between $8,700 and $9,400, typically around $8,800
Color DMD mods add $400-500 value to pre-LCD machines
Art blades are a valuable mod on LCD era machines worth approximately $100 installed
Pat Lawler retired from Jersey Jack Pinball
Alien pinball is no longer #1 on Pinside rankings
Tanner Walters built a fully functional acrylic pinball machine for educational purposes
Joel Engelberth hosts Just Another Pinball Podcast and co-hosts Triple Drain Podcast
Jason previously completed a full Adams Family playfield and cabinet rebuild
The beacon light motor still functioned after fire damage
Jason will need to address fliptronics board issues affecting right flipper
MDF swelling from water damage is causing gaps of 3/16ths of an inch
Straight Down the Middle reviews significantly influence Pro vs Premium tier purchasing decisions among collectors.
Pinball Party Podcast is moving exclusively to the Pinball Network after Episode 5.
Lord of the Rings is the best-themed pinball machine (11/10, only The Matrix comes close at 10/10)
Lord of the Rings default audio is compressed and poor quality (6/10) without Pin Sound Plus
Lord of the Rings gameplay and rules depth warrant 10/10 ratings
Long game length is the primary reason Jason cycles through selling and rebuying Lord of the Rings
The machine had been on commercial vendor route until 2003, then sat unused for 15+ years
Rat damage destroyed approximately 90% of electrical wiring, particularly the secondary transformer harness
All circuit boards powered on successfully on first power-up despite extensive rat damage
Marco playfield drilling was nearly perfect with only 2-3 holes requiring minor adjustment
The angled aluminum wedge mod in the swamp trough is the best gameplay improvement mod for Addams Family
Approximately 85-90% of parts sourced from three vendors: Pinball Life, Planetary Pinball, and Marco Specialties
Jason performed similar speaker cabinet work on Adams Family restoration
Jason has invested at least 250 hours and $2,000+ into the Addams Family restoration
Addams Family restoration is more complex than Centaur restoration
No aftermarket wire harness exists for Addams Family pinball machines
A damaged playfield can be salvaged and sold for approximately $100-200
Jason (Black Knight owner) reports the machine 'has never played and looked this good' after hardtop installation
Black Knight ramps measure 25,000ths thick while hardtop is 30,000ths thick, creating a 5,000ths gap
Original Black Knight playfield came with bare maple on the out lanes
NAP Arcade Facebook group provides more civilized community discussion than Pinside due to real-name accountability
TNA performs exceptionally well on location at pinball venue operators
Scott Benski said early TNA production estimates ranged from 200-400 units before public betting
The machine owner Jason made code modifications to Metallica
Australian player Rhodes played in final ball of ACS against